Intention to Deceive by Desmond Harding

It is the worst day of Harry Rand’s life. He just lost his high-flying job with a London investment bank – although he is as smart as hell, he just didn’t fit in – and now he’s found his mother and stepfather murdered, and three priceless paintings missing.

Going undercover as a dapper art dealer and collector, he pursues the missing paintings from a desolate Scottish island to the fine art auction rooms and the smart galleries of London. In the race to track down the missing paintings, Harry recruits a motley band of helpers, including one of the world’s great art forgers, a snooty auctioneer and an eccentric London picture dealer who delights in thumbing his nose at the art establishment.

Behind everything is Axel Dekker, a man protected by his reputation as one of the richest and most successful businessmen in Europe.

But Dekker is not the great businessman everybody thinks. If Harry can find the source of his power and wealth, he may find the answer to the missing paintings and his dead parents.

Desmond Harding has been a professional writer all his life. First as a journalist for such papers as the Sunday Telegraph, Glasgow Herald, Yorkshire Post and the Sheffield Telegraph, and then in public relations with some of the largest corporate names on both sides of the Atlantic. He now writes full time from his house in West Cornwall.

As a journalist he specialised in business, industry and politics. His time on Fleet Street and with multi-nationals gave him a unique picture of how businesses operate and businessmen behave. His interest in the business world has continued and he now writes thrillers set in that same world.